Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ history of being an 8 seed

By Zack Pearson

24 Mar 2000: Ed Cota #5 and Joseph Forte #40 of the North Carolina Tar Heels look on from the court during the NCAA South Regional Game against the Tennessee Volunteers at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The Tar Heels defeated the Volunteeres 74-69. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport
24 Mar 2000: Ed Cota #5 and Joseph Forte #40 of the North Carolina Tar Heels look on from the court during the NCAA South Regional Game against the Tennessee Volunteers at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The Tar Heels defeated the Volunteeres 74-69. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport /
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Members of the North Carolina Tar Heels pep band performs during the NCAA Big East Conference college basketball game Georgetown University Hoyas on 7th December 1989 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The Georgetown Hoyas won the game 93 – 81. (Photo by Damian Strohmeyer/ Allsport/Getty Images)
Members of the North Carolina Tar Heels pep band performs during the NCAA Big East Conference college basketball game Georgetown University Hoyas on 7th December 1989 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The Georgetown Hoyas won the game 93 – 81. (Photo by Damian Strohmeyer/ Allsport/Getty Images) /

1990 (Reached Sweet 16)

The 1989-90 North Carolina Tar Heels led by Dean Smith started the year ranked No. 7 in the country and opened 2-0. But after that, the Tar Heels lost four of their next six to fall out of the rankings. UNC would be ranked once again, reaching No. 24 before heading into the tournament unranked.

They finished the year 21-13 overall and 8-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference which was good for a fourth-place finish. While this wasn’t one of Smith’s most talented teams he’s had, they weren’t a terrible team that did feature both Hubert Davis and Rick Fox.

UNC entered the 1990 NCAA Tournament as No. 8 seed, matching up with No. 9 SW Missouri State. The Tar Heels took care of business in the first round, beating the Bears 83-70. The win advanced them to the second round and a date with No. 1 Oklahoma, a team that finished the year 27-5 and 11-3 in Big 8.

The Tar Heels stunned the Sooners late in a thriller. Oklahoma led 77-76 when King Rice went to the free throw line, he converted on the first before missing the second. However, UNC retained possession when the ball went out of bounds off the Sooners. Before the play, Smith called a timeout and drew up a play leading to Davis finding Fox for the jumper to give the Tar Heels a 79-77 stunning win over the No. 1 seed Sooners:

The Tar Heels run ended a few days later when they fell to Arkansas in the Sweet 16 but this moment still lives on as one of the best in program history, taking down a No. 1 seed as an underdog.

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